Chipotle Black Bean and Rice Skillet

04.3.16Erin Alderson

When it comes to dinner time, one pan meals are lifesavers. Depending on what else I’m doing or prepping, this rice skillet comes together fairly quickly and feeds one to two hungry people (as long as you prep a bit by cooking the rice ahead of time). In fact, prepping on the weekends or late in the evenings is what saves me. Truly, it makes all the difference and takes me from “I don’t know what to cook” to “I know what to cook and I’m even prepared.” It takes little effort to throw a pot of rice on the stove. Then, once it’s done, it can serve as a base for many recipes throughout the week (a few of those options are at the end of this recipe).

Fold in the spinach and cilantro, stirring until spinach begins to wilt and majority of water has been absorbed.

Create well in the center of the skillet and crack egg into the center. Sprinkle goat cheese on top, cover, reduce heat to low, and let cook until egg whites are set and yolk is done to desired firmness, 8 to 12 minutes.

Sprinkle with extra cilantro and serve with avocado.

by Erin Alderson

Recipe Notes

Tips & Tricks: Chipotle powders can have a wide range of spice to them. I like a sweeter chipotle but I highly recommend starting with just a pinch and adding more if need be!

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

Calories

2000

Total Fat

Less than

65g

Sat Fat

Less than

25g

Cholesterol

Less than

300mg

Sodium

Less than

2,400mg

Total Carbohydrate

300g

Dietary Fiber

25g

Rice Skillet

variations

In true skillet recipe fashion, there’s a lot of wiggle room within the recipe. One of the things I love most is that this can easily be a year-round recipe depending on the greens you use. A few ideas:

Greens: Use kale or chard when spinach isn’t in season. Either option will require a bit more time to wilt but other than that, the amount stays the same.

Spices: Chipotle powder can be spicy. So if you’re not wanting to risk it or want to use something you might already have in your pantry- add 1/2 teaspoon or so of smoked paprika or chili powder.

With all the grains to choose from, it’s easy to overlook brown rice. But it’s versatile enough that I still cook it once a week (read a bit about how to properly cool and use leftover rice). I make a batch on Sunday night and can easily use it for meals through Friday. Generally, I prefer short grain brown rice for most everything but long grain will work in these meals. A few options to use brown rice outside of this rice skillet:

Leftovers in the fridge that come together into their own unique meal are the best! I was so grateful to have rice cooked and waiting for me to toss in a skillet with veggies and an egg after a long day of work today. I love the southwest flavors you’ve used here– can’t wait to try this soon!

First of all, I want to apologize for not having commented before. So many of your recipes have been slam dunks for us and have made their way into our regular meal rotation–the avocado tostadas and black bean, sweet potato and guac tacos come to mind! I made this yesterday. When my husband–whose top three foods are probably rice, beans and peanut butter–gazed down at his plate, he said, This looks like something I want to eat everyday for a month, and after one bite, Where have you been all my life? I didn’t have chipotle powder on hand but instead swapped paprika and chili powder. We’re excited to have a new take on the humble rice & bean bowl, thank you!

This was sooo delicious! I did some swapping in order to use what I had on hand: white and red quinoa instead of the rice, a little white wine vinegar and honey dijon mustard instead of the chipotle powder. I loved the goat cheese, cilantro and spinach. Can’t wait to make it again!

Longtime lurker here – I make so many of your delicious recipes, and share your site with so many friends bragging about its yummy-ness, it’s about time you knew what a staple you are in our house! Thank you for such refreshing and inspiring recipes (and beautiful photography).

Recipe was great with a few minor considerations. The chipotle chile powder – next time I might swap out some cumin or something…my 2 little kids wouldn’t eat it because of the spice. I might decrease the amount of lime juice too (although, the lime I used was HUGE – so maybe it was too much in the first place). I really love rice/bean/egg skillets and this one has so many good ingredients that kept me satisfied and feeling good about what I ate. I will definitely make again (with my few minor adjustments)

Anything with rice, black beans, and a skillet and I am on board!
I don’t actually have a skillet pan as I’m living abroad for a year and mine is back home… would a regular frying pan still be ok? I’m assuming so, but do you have any recommendations?

Thanks for posting this. I really, really wanted to love this! However, I had to toss it because of the spice. 2 tsp of chipotle powder!! …well…maybe there is an extremely wide range of chipotle powders regarding to their heat. It was painful to eat. I made again with 1/2 tsp and even that pushing it. I like the idea of substituting cumin and chili powder…I’ll try it again with that.

Oh yikes! I just updated the recipe. This is a slightly older recipe and I’m guessing at the time I did have a sweeter (more smokey, less spicy) chipotle powder. I’d definitely recommend just a pinch (maybe upwards of 1/4 teaspoon) for spicier chipotle powders!

This looks delicious! Have you ever had an issues with re-heating rice? I know a lot of guidance is iffy about the dangers of re-heating it after more than a day or so. Happy to disregard this but just wondered if you’d ever experienced any bad effects of keeping it for a few days in the fridge as described as I’m a little cautious.

Hi Sarah- I always run the leftover rice under cold water right after making and then stash in the refrigerator (cooling it quickly is key). I’ve never had any problems but I think it’s good to be cautious. I added a link in the info though for a bit more info!